This past May, I was blessed with my first trip to visit some of the LAMP communities in northern British Columbia. It was very surreal. It reminded me of the first time I learned how to drive a car. For years I sat in the passenger seat, I was familiar with the car and where we were driving. However, when I had to move into the driver’s seat, I was seeing and experiencing things from a new perspective. For years, I have been in the same community at the same time in July but this time I was there in May without my church family. The kids in the communities where in school and plants were still growing, unlike in July when kids have nothing to do and the plants are in full bloom. Another difference with this trip included visiting other communities and community leaders. If I could sum up my first trip with a picture, it would be this one. I love this picture. While visiting a band office, I was admiring the view of the mountains. As I drove around a corner, out of nowhere this carnival appeared. The lights, sounds of a traveling carnival, contrasted the natural beauty of the mountains in the background. I laughed twice and had to take a picture. I wish I had time to go, I think they had deep-fried Twinkies.

There were many highlights of the trip. However, meeting several of the community leaders was one of the main highlights. Nearly all of them have lived their entire lives in the Hazelton area. Their servant hearts humbled me. Some examples of the many ways the host serve in the community are; serving at the local food bank, providing blankets for homeless people near their house, and another minster was instant messaging a person who was trying to break from their past of being a gang member. God is at work in these communities but there is always more people stuck with the consequences of their sins, which is no different from myself. There is good news found Jesus’ death and resurrection. I know my sins are forgiven by the gift of Jesus Christ and because of this, I have hope that comes from God. Many people including those in the north, never get a chance to hear about this hope found in God’s forgiveness. Please continue to pray for all people including those in the north, that their hearts would be open to receive this message. Pray for people to come and serve in these communities. Like my first time driving, I loved visiting the communities and I cannot wait to go back.
        The last picture I would like to leave you with, is my time in Kitamaat Village. While making arrangements for a summer VBS, I asked our host if we could visit the local school. It was a very interesting looking and I wanted to know more about the building. The principle grcious enough to give us a tour and we discovered that the school building was designed in the shape of a salmon!

     As the tour went along, we came upon a language class where the students were learning the Haisla language. The language teacher stopped the class and invited us in to hear the students drum and sing in the Haisla language. We felt very welcomed and were privileged to have had this experience.